FAIRMONT — A Granada man is facing felony charges in Martin County.

Dustin Jeffrey Wickert, 40, has been charged with one count of burglary in the first degree. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $35,000 fine. Wickert is also charged with domestic assault by strangulation, which carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

According to the complaint:

On March 19, 2021, Fairmont Police officers were dispatched to a residence on North Elm Street on a report of a domestic assault. Two officers arrived on scene and met with a woman who advised that she had been assaulted by Wickert. She indicated she had been having issues with Wickert.

The woman advised that Wickert had shown up to her house that night and was pounding on the door. She indicated she cracked the door open and asked what he wanted. She indicated that Wickert then pushed the door open and punched her in the mouth.

She stated he then grabbed her phone and ran upstairs. She advised that she followed Wickert upstairs told him she was going to call the police. She indicated that Wickert then attacked her again, choking her around the neck.

An officer observed that her lip was noticeably swollen. The woman advised that when Wickert was choking her, it became difficult to breathe. She advised the officer that she had previously been in a relationship with Wickert, but the relationship ended in April of 2020.

She further indicated that they moved back in together in June of 2020 in the city of Sherburn, but Wickert has never lived at her residence in Fairmont. She indicated the last time he was in her house was when he was removed by law enforcement to be transported to “detox.”

The officer discovered that Wickert was removed from the residence in February of 2021. A review of Wickert’s criminal history shows a conviction for domestic assault in 2016. That conviction is a prior qualified domestic violence related offense conviction.